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A true original, the 57 is a bridge humbucker pickup designed for today’s guitar player regardless of style or genre. The unique combination of Alnico V magnets and steel pole pieces evoke an unmistakably PAF quality in its tone. The active attributes provide the headroom and punch necessary to deliver unparalleled definition and presence.

The 66 is a result of pickup design innovation inspired by the specific needs and requests of today’s players. Alnico V magnets provide the warm, smooth mid-range and expansive lows while the ceramic pole pieces bring out the clarity in the upper register.

Designed and voiced specifically as neck and bridge pickup, the 57 & 66 humbuckers come in EMG’s exclusive brushed steel, gold, chrome, black chrome or black cap giving it a sleek modern look that compliments any instrument. A completely solderless installation makes this pickup set easy to install all on your own.

57/66 Set

Customer Reviews

The good, bad, great, and the ugly.

Riccanator /Reviewed 6/16/2019

Ok so first off once installed these sound great. Highly recommend and enjoy them. I've slapped them into an epi les paul special 2 afd edition. They woke up the guitar for sure. My only problem is since on my les they did the vol/tone controls different so I had to order some short shaft pots to replace the ones that came with mine since I selected the longer les paul ones.. Not EMG's fault but a tip for you if you're nuts like me and putting these pickups into a guitar that costs less than them lol. My Neck/bridge selector also was wired wonky from epi so I went ahead and ordered a 3 way switch also. Anyway. Pretty easy install. My only real hassle was that the 57 pickup had one screw hole that wasn't threaded correctly.. I essentially threaded it by forcing one of the adjustment screws in and back out a few times. It works but just a little finicky. On ''my'' guitar there isn't a whole lot of space inside the ''back plate'' to sit all of the components.. So they're a bit ''crammed'' in there. I stated already.. But recommend you definitely get an emg switch if you're at all thinking about using the one already on the guitar. You'll save $ if you don't but personally I just like things to be easy lol. Quality = 4 stars due to the stripped feeling threading on the ''adjustment screw'' for the bridge pickup. Price = 3 stars due to the fact that these cost more than the other pickups but build wise I'd assume they're very much about the same as the other lines offered by emg (I could be wrong who knows). Value = 3 stars Pretty much same as price explanation. Ease of install- 4 because the included paperwork does layout several ways to install with pics making things very simple. With EMG's all you need (at least in my case) is a small phillips screwdriver and that's mostly used on things to disassemble your guitar just to put in the pickups. Very ''plug and play'' for the most part. The only modifying I had to do that I could see someone else needing to do as well, was that my input jack port was smaller on my guitar so I had to file the plastic a little more to widen the hole. Wasn't even a big hassle. To close, these pickups certainly rival some rich passive pickups. Very good sound coming through and cleans sounded very good with plenty of life and ''sustain'' I would say. They don't seem to make any wonky feedback or anything like my older Ibanez with Ibanez active pickups tended to do. Very clean and very great sounding. I think you can play about any genre with this set so long as you've got tone and vol knob on your axe. All in all I'm happy. But yea, a little pricy.

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made for metal

marzbite /Reviewed 2/17/2019

They are too bright for my taste and not crisp clear enough, the highs are too high and not versatile when using multitude of modulation effects, the highs just don't let much options, I was using the TCX set for Telecaster on a custom made and I loved the super clear clean and crisp output with nice lows and controlled highs. These set is great for shreders no doubt, has great output and perfect for distortion but for me they lack versatility and clarity.

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Ok, we've reached endgame

Havoc /Reviewed 12/7/2018

TLDR: These little buggers can do anything. It is unclear why I'd use something else at this point.

Longer version:
I am really amazed at the articulation which comes through with this set. While I love the tone of many of other EMG offerings, they often seemed to be master of one area, but fell a bit compared to passives in the diversity of playstyles department, and while I'm not sure this is the right term, felt "static". They were going to do what they were going to do, and I was along for the ride.

This set does not have that issue. They are incredibly versatile, and as a friend of mine said, have all the dynamics of passive pickups - but with less noise. That's pretty accurate.

Crazy good, nice job EMG. These are my go-tos.

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FIRE-BREATHING FURY FOR AN OLD LES PAUL

Stephen /Reviewed 11/28/2018

I had an old Class-5 Les Paul that I was considering selling because I just couldn't get the sound that I wanted. I swapped out the Gibson PAFs with a set of the 57/66 and this guitar now breathes FIRE! It is an unbelievable change and now I've ordered another set to put in my 1980 Gibson E2 Explorer. There is such incredible clarity to the notes. The tone is unbelievably good.
Also, a big shout-out to Eric from Tech Support who helped me with a challenge that I had with the pickup selector wiring that was originally done by Gibson. EMG has a great product and the post-sale support was awesome.

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Truly great

Francis Ash /Reviewed 11/16/2018

First time I heard these pickups, they were played by Andy James. This guy is a such a great shredder that even the worst pickup would sound good in his hands.
Yet, I wanted to try them. And though I'm not half of the guitar player that Andy James is, I was able to get a great sound out of them !
The 57 surprised me. I had heard that it sounded quite like the EMG JH bridge. Absolutely not ! It's got its own tone and doesn't sound like the JH set in any ways. It makes me think of a Gibson pickup with a sharper sound and a higher output. Unique !
The 66 is creamy, round and quite warm. Quite close to the EMG 60 but with a bit more mediums in it. Great for cleans and high gain leads, it's flawless.
I really love this set, and the greatest thing of all is I can easily move it from one guitar to another, cos' I have several guitars with EMGs. Already tried this 57/66 set on 2 different guitars (a single cut with mahogany body and a super strat with alder body) and love the way these pickups sound on both guitars. If I was lazy - or just wealthier - I would buy a second set of these pickups !

Excelentes pastillas

Perfect match for my Les Paul

Thad /Reviewed 9/5/2018

I was constantly rotating passive pickups in my Les Paul Standard, until finally installing the 57/66 set. No muddy, honky tones, and the volume and tone knobs are actually useful now! They sound very good with clean and high gain tones. They add nice volume, clarity, compression, and sustain with zero noise compared to passive. Obviously the solderless install is faster...plug and play. I definitely prefer these to 81/85 & Fat 55's also. BTW, no need for 18 or 24 volt mods in my opinion. \m/

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Must Buy!

Tommy /Reviewed 7/15/2018

These pickups are great; a must buy for hard rock enthusiasts like myself. You can get a nice clean warm tone or get a powerful roar like Metallica. Very happy with my purchase

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A GREAT GROWL, AMAZING CLEAN

cdwlee /Reviewed 5/3/2018

After pining after these for years, I finally pulled the trigger. I have been obsessed with the X series and buying those for the last few years for my guitars, but I was always drawn to these.

I installed them in a new custom explorer, and the sound was amazing. That fluttering buzzsaw tone that I only hear when playing a classical guitar, these pickups grab that raw tone of the strings, and with a little overdrive they sound like nothing I have ever heard. It's incredible!

They are not as loud as other EMG options (which is what I wanted in this guitar) and the tone was amazing. The gold color was a bit darker and warmer than the other gold hardware, but they look amazing in this beast.

They blend together very well, and I find the clean neck tones reminiscent of the Het Set - almost a thick sound with a subtle chorus. I know it's not, but it just rings forever!

If you want a thick clean sound, almost reminiscent of thicker strings without sacrificing your fingers - this set is by far the best choice, and they really can go from blues to metal in moments.